Military Confrontation Seems Inevitable If No New Iran Nuclear Deal, France Says

 France's Foreign Minister Jean-Noel Barrot speaks during the Forum d'affaires Franco-Chinois in Shanghai on March 28, 2025. (AFP)
France's Foreign Minister Jean-Noel Barrot speaks during the Forum d'affaires Franco-Chinois in Shanghai on March 28, 2025. (AFP)
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Military Confrontation Seems Inevitable If No New Iran Nuclear Deal, France Says

 France's Foreign Minister Jean-Noel Barrot speaks during the Forum d'affaires Franco-Chinois in Shanghai on March 28, 2025. (AFP)
France's Foreign Minister Jean-Noel Barrot speaks during the Forum d'affaires Franco-Chinois in Shanghai on March 28, 2025. (AFP)

The window to reach a new deal to curb Iran's nuclear program is narrow and if it is not achieved then a military confrontation seems "almost inevitable", French Foreign Minister Jean-Noel Barrot said on Wednesday.

"We only have a few months until the expiration of this (2015) accord," he told a parliamentary hearing. "In case of failure, a military confrontation would seem to be almost inevitable."

Barrot added that new European Union sanctions on Tehran linked to the detention of foreign citizens in Iran would also be approved in the coming weeks.



Rosatom Says Situation at Iran’s Bushehr Nuclear Plant Unfolding Under Worst-Case Scenario

This satellite image from Planet Labs PBC shows the Bushehr Nuclear Power Plant in Bushehr, Iran, Dec. 7, 2025. (Planet Labs PBC via AP)
This satellite image from Planet Labs PBC shows the Bushehr Nuclear Power Plant in Bushehr, Iran, Dec. 7, 2025. (Planet Labs PBC via AP)
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Rosatom Says Situation at Iran’s Bushehr Nuclear Plant Unfolding Under Worst-Case Scenario

This satellite image from Planet Labs PBC shows the Bushehr Nuclear Power Plant in Bushehr, Iran, Dec. 7, 2025. (Planet Labs PBC via AP)
This satellite image from Planet Labs PBC shows the Bushehr Nuclear Power Plant in Bushehr, Iran, Dec. 7, 2025. (Planet Labs PBC via AP)

The situation at Iran's Bushehr nuclear power plant continues to develop along a worst-case scenario, the head of Russia's state nuclear corporation Rosatom, Alexei Likhachev, said on Wednesday.

The International Atomic ‌Energy Agency ‌on Tuesday said ‌it had ⁠been informed by ⁠Iran that a projectile struck the premises of the Bushehr NPP.

Likhachev said the strike, which caused no ⁠casualties, occurred at around ‌1800 ‌GMT on Tuesday and hit ‌an area near ‌an operational power unit.

He added that Rosatom had begun a third phase of ‌personnel evacuation, with one group departing by road ⁠towards ⁠the Iranian-Armenian border on Wednesday morning and two more groups set to leave shortly.

Until the situation stabilizes, Rosatom is temporarily reducing the number of staff at the plant to a minimum.


Russian Attacks Knock Out Power for Thousands in Ukraine’s North

A woman is holding a Ukrainian flag and crying after the buses with released Ukrainian prisoners of war (POW) drove by in the Chernihiv region on March 6, 2026, amid the Russian invasion of Ukraine. (AFP)
A woman is holding a Ukrainian flag and crying after the buses with released Ukrainian prisoners of war (POW) drove by in the Chernihiv region on March 6, 2026, amid the Russian invasion of Ukraine. (AFP)
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Russian Attacks Knock Out Power for Thousands in Ukraine’s North

A woman is holding a Ukrainian flag and crying after the buses with released Ukrainian prisoners of war (POW) drove by in the Chernihiv region on March 6, 2026, amid the Russian invasion of Ukraine. (AFP)
A woman is holding a Ukrainian flag and crying after the buses with released Ukrainian prisoners of war (POW) drove by in the Chernihiv region on March 6, 2026, amid the Russian invasion of Ukraine. (AFP)

Russian attacks damaged two energy facilities in Ukraine's northern Chernihiv region, leaving close to 212,000 consumers without power, a regional electricity distribution company said on Wednesday.

Chernihivoblenergo said nearly 150,000 consumers in the city of Chernihiv and the surrounding district were without power after a Russian attack damaged an energy ‌facility in ‌the Chernihiv district.

It later added ‌that ⁠close to another ⁠62,000 consumers were left without power in three other districts in the region after an attack on an energy facility in the Nizhynskyi district.

Ukraine's air force said Russia launched 147 drones ⁠at the country overnight, of which ‌121 were downed ‌or neutralized.

Russia has been targeting Ukrainian energy ‌facilities throughout the war, causing regular, hours-long ‌blackouts across the country. Ukraine has also targeted Russia's energy system, particularly oil refineries, depots and transport terminals.

Chernihiv was badly hit by ‌power outages over the winter as Russia carried out its biggest ⁠bombing ⁠campaign of the four-year war against Ukraine's electricity grid.

An earlier attack left much of the region without power on Saturday.

Close to 21,000 residents of the town of Slavutych, which lies in the neighboring Kyiv region, were also temporarily without power after a morning attack, the regional governor said on Telegram.

Critical infrastructure has been switched to backup power supplies, the governor added.


UK Police Arrest 2 Men over Arson Attack on Jewish Charity Ambulances

A member (L) of the Jewish community views the scene of an antisemitic arson attack through a makeshift fence in the Golders Green neighbourhood of north London, on March 24, 2026, a day after volunteer ambulances run by a Jewish organisation were set on fire. (Photo by Henry NICHOLLS / AFP)
A member (L) of the Jewish community views the scene of an antisemitic arson attack through a makeshift fence in the Golders Green neighbourhood of north London, on March 24, 2026, a day after volunteer ambulances run by a Jewish organisation were set on fire. (Photo by Henry NICHOLLS / AFP)
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UK Police Arrest 2 Men over Arson Attack on Jewish Charity Ambulances

A member (L) of the Jewish community views the scene of an antisemitic arson attack through a makeshift fence in the Golders Green neighbourhood of north London, on March 24, 2026, a day after volunteer ambulances run by a Jewish organisation were set on fire. (Photo by Henry NICHOLLS / AFP)
A member (L) of the Jewish community views the scene of an antisemitic arson attack through a makeshift fence in the Golders Green neighbourhood of north London, on March 24, 2026, a day after volunteer ambulances run by a Jewish organisation were set on fire. (Photo by Henry NICHOLLS / AFP)

British police said they arrested two men in connection with the suspected antisemitic arson attack on four Jewish community ambulances in north London earlier this week.

Police said on Wednesday the men, aged 47 and 45, were arrested at addresses in north west London and central ⁠London respectively, and were ⁠being held in custody.

The ambulances were set on fire in the early hours of Monday morning in an attack which British Prime Minister Keir ⁠Starmer called a "deeply shocking antisemitic arson". No injuries were reported.

Police, who had previously said they were looking into a possible link to Iran, said the investigation continued, as CCTV footage had suggested there were at least three people involved.

An enhanced police presence remained in place ⁠around ⁠the affected communities in north London as a precaution, the police statement added.

In Britain, concern has mounted about rising levels of antisemitism, while authorities have also warned of the threat posed by Iran, including the surveillance or targeting of Jewish sites. Tehran has denied such accusations.